Wacker chemist gets prison for sharing trade secrets

Saturday

Jan 18, 2014 at 3:00 PM

By Daily Telegram staff

A chemist who admitted stealing more than 100 secret formulas while working at the Wacker Silicone plant in Raisin Township and sharing them with a Korean company was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday by a federal judge.

Federal probation officials estimated a $15 million loss of licensing revenue over a 10-year period due to the trade secret thefts by Michael Agodoa, 62, of Midland.

Agodoa pleaded guilty in September to stealing trade secrets and disclosing them to KCC Silicones, a Korean-based chemical company. His attorney asked for probation, arguing in a sentence memorandum that Agodoa acted “in the scientific spirit of sharing information,” although he realizes it violated federal law.

“He disclosed proprietary information that had been in his possession for over 20 years in an effort to improve the quality of the products he was helping KCC to develop, rather than to outright steal Wacker’s formulae and processes,” stated federal defender Andrew Wise.

“This defendant has admitted to stealing formulas from a chemical company which invested time, effort, and money to develop these trade secrets,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade in a statement issued Thursday.

“Stealing trade secrets harms Michigan businesses and costs jobs. We are committed to protecting Michigan’s technology, and we hope that this prosecution will send a message that stealing proprietary information from an employer or competitor is a serious crime,” McQuade said.

“Theft of trade secrets and commercial innovations is a serious criminal offense, whether prompted by personal greed or a desire to exploit shortcuts to economic and technological pre-eminence,” stated Paul Abbate, special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“These criminal acts negatively impact U.S. industry and the hard-working people and businesses of Michigan,” he said.

Wise argued that prison was not necessary for a 62-year-old man with no criminal history. His conviction makes it unlikely he will work again as a chemist, said Wise. Agodoa emigrated from his native Ghana at the age of 19 and studied to earn a master’s degree in chemistry, he said. He developed liquid silicon rubber products while working for Wacker Silicone until 1997.

Agodoa became a paid consultant to KCC Silicones in 2010 when he began sharing formulas and processes owned by Wacker.

Based on Wacker’s licensing fee of 5 percent of yearly sales, federal probation officials calculated the company’s loss over 10 years at more than $15 million, stated assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Teall in a sentencing memorandum. The parties agreed to use a loss figure of more than $2.5 million for sentencing guideline calculations that he said called for a prison term in the range of 37 to 46 months.

U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Duggan handed down a sentence of two years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. He also ordered Agodoa to pay a $7,500 fine. No restitution was ordered.